TRAGIC BAND-DOM There's no doubt that planning for Duke's Last Day of Classes is well underway, but there seems to be a little controversy among the event's organizers, mainly concerning-what else?-the band.
A source close to the situation says the LDOC committee was in talks with the management team for No Doubt (featuring Gwen Stefani, right), but someone high up in the Duke camp allegedly bungled relations with the band's managers, effectively taking No Doubt out of the mix. A piece of advice for certain members of the LDOC committee: Don't speak.
With No Doubt undoubtedly out, the committee has had to entertain other possibilities. LDOC Chair Mark Middaugh, a senior, says that from the initial list of about 50 possible bands, the group is down to approximately 12 realistic possibilities-including openers, headliners and mid-range performers, with Third Eye Blind (above) reportedly in the mix.
Middaugh added that he's still unsure about what mix of performers his team is considering, but "active programming throughout the day" tops his priorities. He said that could include anything from basketball hoops on the quad to a battle of student bands....
ANIMAL HOUSES, PART 2 It sounds like both of Duke's off-campus fraternities, Delta Phi Alpha, formerly Sigma Alpha Epsilon, and Eta Prime, formerly Kappa Sigma, are at least entertaining the notion of coming back on campus.
"We're evaluating lots of opportunities, including becoming a University-recognized group again," says SAE senior Ryan Turner. "Some members are interested, but some are also pleased with the status quo."
Junior Ben Rubinfeld, president of Eta Prime, says the sentiment is similar for his fraternity, which was also kicked off campus in 2002. But a North Carolina representative from the Kappa Sigma national organization approached the unofficial and disaffiliated group to suggest it think about talking to the Interfraternity Council about coming back onto campus.
"There hasn't really been a dialogue going on between the IFC leadership and off-campus fraternities," Rubinfeld says. "That's been a barrier. But once that's established, we'll see."
Both groups have been talking to alums about the prospect of coming back to the University that once banished them, but nothing is concrete as of yet. While they do admit that they enjoy the autonomy and independence they have from their current status, the groups do acknowledge some perks in an eventual return.
"The greatest benefit for us would be having less pressure and hostility from certain members of the administration who have thwarted our efforts to exist," Turner says.
But with more than three relatively large and successful pledge classes since they've been independent (TV went to press a few days before fraternity rush bids went out last month), it doesn't look like their existence is really dependent on what the University thinks....
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